Strawberries and Vanilla
by KaleidoscopeKreation
Summary: It's a hot day. Perhaps Ichigo caught a touch of the sun. Or maybe it was the intoxicating smell of vanilla that did it...


**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew; if I did, there would have been a few slight modifications: Kish and Ichigo would've been together by Episode 39, Pai would have swept Lettuce into his arms and kissed her in Episode 41 (someone else can rescue Ryou if they like), Deep Blue would have died along with his other consciousness Masaya the Tree-Hugger, who would have met an ironic end somewhere early on in the story by being strangled by Taruto's plant chimeras...

Yeah, you get the picture.

**A/N: Ciao there! Blatant mixing of languages, sorry... -_-  
But anyhow. Taking a break from my usual PaixRetasu fluff, I am doing this kiichigo fluff (heh, what role-reversal from the usual TMM writer's habits)! This is a fic to compensate for my incompetence in meeting True Colour's challenge fic, which had to include Kish, Ichigo, a crystal, a rainy day and a set of false teeth... the possibilities were endless, but it just wasn't flowing. So here's some appeasing fluff instead! So here, in Glorious Technicolor, starring Kisshu and Ichigo, I give you...**

**Strawberries and Vanilla**

**By Essence of Gold**

The alien with the golden eyes floated above his comrades, totally ignoring Pai's demands that he do some actual work, and Taruto's taunting. He was too busy daydreaming.

Unsurprisingly, the object of his fantasies was Ichigo.

Her looks, the way she smiled, the way she screamed at him after he teased her... Kish grinned lazily as he recalled the strawberryish taste – or was it a smell? He couldn't quite recall - of her when he had kissed her...

Just then, something hard collided with the back of Kish's head. Cursing, he turned around to see Pai holding his fan the wrong way up, having just hit Kish with the handle.

'Would you mind coming down and actually doing something useful? For example, assisting us with this Chimera Anima?' Pai suggested icily.

'I don't see why I should.'

'Have you totally forgotten your mission? Have your pitiful feelings made you that blind?' Pai sneered. Well, the closest 'totally emotionless' got to a sneer, anyway.

'You're just jealous 'cause you don't have any feelings to be blinded _by,' _Kish returned bitingly. 'Or maybe you do, but you just won't admit it!'

'Now is not the time for pointless jibes; we have work to do,' Pai answered through gritted teeth, ignoring the last part of Kish's comment.

'Why are we even bothering to make Chimera's anymore? I think we all the missions' practically lost it's PORPOISE, if you know what I mean and I think you do?'

Pai's eye twitched dangerously, but to Kish's disappointment, he kept it together.

'That's enough. Come down here and help, or I'll make a point in mentioning your behaviour to Deep Blue.' He'd played a trump card, and he knew it.

Muttering angrily, Kish followed his senior down to the half-finished chimera.

* * *

Oblivious to the alien's secret plotting, the humans of Tokyo basked happily in the summer sun. It was a perfect July day, and an air of excitement hung over the city; school was nearly over, soon the summer holidays would be upon them, filled with the promises of heat and sunlight. According to the weather forecast, it was going to be a scorching summer.

Pity she'd be spending it serving slushies at Cafe Mew Mew.

Resolutely ignoring the happy atmosphere around her, Ichigo paced along the road toward her house. Her head was down, and she was deep in thought; thoughts that were giving her a pretty hard time. Round and round in circles they went, like a cat chasing its own tail. _I can't get him out of my head... why is he in my head anyway?... after all the times I've... this is ridiculous! _She felt her cheeks turn red for the millionth time that day.

Surprisingly, she wasn't thinking about her boyfriend, Masaya.

She was thinking about Kisshu, the irritating, self-assured, dark-green-haired alien who stalked her and every so often stole kisses.

Actually, he hadn't managed to actually kiss her for a long time – she always beat him off at the last second. Maybe next time, she'd let him-

NO. THAT THOUGHT NEVER HAPPENED. I'm going to erase it form my memory banks, take a deep breath, and-

KYAAAAAAH!

Ichigo, just passing an ice-cream van, had picked up an overwhelming scent of vanilla ice-cream. The sweet, exotic smell reminded her irresistibly of... of, well, Kish.

She could practically feel the steam pouring from her ears.

_Relax, go to your happy place, think of Aoyama-kun... Aoyama-k-_

_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_

The Masaya in her happy place had turned into a certain gold-eyed alien.

_Ack! This is getting rapidly out of hand..._

Red bunches flying out behind her, Ichigo sprinted home, her sole mission being to reach her home, so she could flop on her bed and think this out properly. 

Five minutes later, wheezing and red in the face, Ichigo stumbled through her front door, gasping a quick 'Hi, Mum,' and then hurtling up the stairs and slamming her bedroom door behind her. Ichigo fell backwards across her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. One word seemed to beat through her head, keeping time with her racing pulse.

_Kisshu... Kisshu... Kisshu..._

* * *

Head hurting from staring at the screen to long, back aching from spending so long hunched over their latest project, Kisshu straightened up and glared at Pai.

'There. We're done. Can I go now?'

The ghost of a smile flickered over Pai's face. 'Yes, I suppose so.'

Kish jumped into the air, having one of his violent mood swings. 'Yay! Thanks, Pai, I'm sorry I said you had no feelings. Bye!' Before Pai could think up some new job for him, he teleported away.

Pai turned his gaze back to the computer, but instead of continuing work, he stared sightlessly at the screen, his mind turning over what Kisshu had said.

_Do I really have no feelings?..._

Pai sighed and rubbed his temples. Sometimes being the competent one took its toll.

* * *

Ichigo was finally beginning to calm down. Her heartbeat slowing, she heaved a deep, gusty sigh, her hair splayed across her pillow. Stretching her arms over her head, she started to reorder her mind.

_One: I love Aoyama-kun. Two: I violently dislike Kisshu, who is a stalker. Three: When said stalker tries to kiss me, I will NOT-_

'Hey there, Koneko-chan.'

'Nyaah!' Ichigo gasped, shooting upright. 'Kisshu!' And there he was, leaning against her wall, the picture of insolence.

'Missed me?' he asked flirtily.

'Do you really want me to answer that?' Ichigo huffed.

Kish frowned, and then floated closer to her, coming to rest cross-legged on her bed. Ichigo shuddered involuntarily.

'Yes; actually, I'd be quite interested to know the answer to my question; the _real _answer, that is. No lying, Kitty-cat,' his eyes sparkled with teasing laughter, but beneath it all Ichigo could see genuine curiosity, and maybe even... _hope?_

'Weeell,' Ichigo started. _Why the heck am I telling him this?! He doesn't need to know, it'll only make him all the more insufferable... _'On my way home from school today, I was reminded of you by... something.'

'And what was that?' Kish breathed, bending closer to her. Ichigo shuddered again; but this time, the feeling wasn't entirely unpleasant...

'V-v... vanilla.'

And then, instead of the sarcastic comment she'd been expecting, she heard a Kish laughing softly. 'That's funny... you remind _me _of strawberry. So together, we make strawberry and vanilla, huh?' he laughed again.

And then, for some reason unbeknownst to even herself, Ichigo laughed too. 'Heh. I don't really see what's so funny about it.'

'Oh well... it just struck me as amusing.' Kish was even closer now, his face less than an inch away from hers.

'Ichigo,' he whispered.

And then he kissed her.

This kiss was different, unlike all his previous intrusions on her personal space. Instead of his usual rough style, Kish's lips moved gently and... _lovingly?... _against hers, causing an involuntary purr to rise in her throat. Ichigo knew she should beat him off, or at least do _something, _but try as she might she couldn't summon the will... even Masaya was becoming little more than a blurred dream...  
Kish moved so that he was lying next to Ichigo on the bed, and then slid a hand behind her neck, growling against her mouth as he found the bell choker. _How can she wear it; it's practically a collar! _he thought angrily.

'Let me help you take that off,' he whispered, and before she could protest, the necklace jangled to the floor below them.

Somehow, the noise of that little bell brought Ichigo to her senses.

'K-kisshu!' she gasped, planting her hands on his chest and shoving him away from her. Though her head was still reeling from the kiss, she glared at him with surprising fervour.

'How dare you kiss me like that? I have a _boyfriend, _you know!'

'Mmm?' Kish looked up vaguely. 'What was that, Koneko-chan?'

'Ugh, you are _unbelievable! _I wish you'd leave here right now!'

'Really?' Kish mused. 'I'm that bad at kissing?'

'_Yes! _Masaya is ten times as good as- uhh...' Ichigo had been about to say 'as you are at kissing', when she realised that to date, he hadn't actually kissed her yet. 'You're getting off the point. I want you to leave because you're a perverted alien stalker and because _Masaya_'s my boyfriend, not because you're bad a-... nyaaaah...' Ichigo flushed redder and redder as she realised what an enormous hole she'd dug herself into.

'So you think I'm _good _at kissing?' Kish purred, moving still closer to her. Ichigo gulped.

'I never said that...'

'Boyfriend or no, I kiss you better than he does, don't I, Koneko-chan?' Kish murmured, and Ichigo nearly passed out as she caught a whiff of his scent. _Just like vanilla... no, not quite... slightly different..._

'W-well...' She was cut off as Kish pressed his lips to hers once again. And this time, she couldn't find even the slightest will to make him stop.

_Is this what real love feels like? _She found herself wondering. _They do say that you can tell true love from the kiss... _and then her thoughts melted into a pile of mush.

Kish wrapped his arms around his kitten, smiling into her mouth. _She tastes just exactly like strawberries, except even sweeter. _

Strawberries and vanilla always did make a good match.

_*Fin*_

**Me: So did you enjoy it? If you did, pleasey please please review! XD**

**Ichigo: Do! She'll send you cyber-cookies in return! (finishes vanilla-choc-chip cookies with a sigh of contentment)**

**Later on, in the Fourth Dimension...**

**Pai: Kish, where have you been all this time? **_**Thinks: do I really want to know?**_

**Kish: Out getting my girl, which is more than I can say for SOME...**

**Pai: *twitchy eye* I don't fully understand you, Kisshu...**

**Kish: Now now, don't start seeing red; or should I say, GREEN... **

**Pai: *twitch twitch***

**Kisshu: Hey, Pai! You know, all this talk is reminding me of SOMETHING!...**

**Pai: *barely suppressed snarl* what?**

**Kish: A TRAFFIC LIGHT! All we need now is amber! *cavorts through the air madly***

**Pai: *snaps* ACT YOUR AGE!**

**THE SCENE CLOSES**

**Sorry, couldn't resist! XD You can see my PaixLettuce love shining through there... it's an incurable habit. :)**

**Again, please review!**


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